Inclosure



E. E. LEHWESS INcLosURE March 15, 1932.

File@ May 1. 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet l March l5, 1932. E, E L EHWESS 1,849,099

INCLOSURE FiledMay 1,- 1929 e sheets-sheet 2 I MrchlS, 1932. E. E. I EHwEss` 1,849,099v

INcLosURE Filed May l, 1929 6 Sheets-Shegt 3 ATTORNEY March 15,1932. E. E. LEHwEss INCLOSURE Filed May l, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 15, 19,32. E. E. LEHwEss INCLOSURE Filed May l, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 43 Fig. 1 1.

/NVf/vro I Afro/mfr Patented Mar'. 175,i 1932 2 EDoUARnE. 1.?rnwnss,,orfraars,V mencnnssicnon 'ro ivrEoHANroig a GENERAL INVENTIoNs COMPANYTLIMITED, onrlonnonnnenann, ,A coaronn'rron' orsaluna:

'BRITAIN' I 1 l y applicati@ filed may?,iQue/29,Y seria11n .v ssaaaaf'ln'd"meren/ernaarMayaafiezs,

Y. ThisV `invention relates"V toV Y'a f .functionally and'structurally improved inclosure-or hood capableof use in numerous different associations and, inV its' more specific aspects, Yaims to provide a 4device of-this character particularly designed for use in connection with vehicles and, specifically, automobiles.

It it'an object ofthe invention to provide' i a -device of this character which. may Vbe operated readilyin the instance of`a'motor vehicle bythe driver" and in which, if. de` .a

sirable,y thev driver will-not have to bring the vehicle to a stand-still'in orderl'to effectuate such operation. i Y' A further object is thatl of providing an in--Il closure, the position of whichV may be f adjusted to any desired point in a minimum amount of time and which device will embody relatively few parts, each individually simple and rugged in construction .andV capable of.Y

being manufactured and assembled at relatively nominal cost.

An additional object that of constructing an inclosure which will presentan eX- tremely pleasing appearance and which,

y. moreoverrwillrigidly maintain its operative position and serve to eectuallyprotect `the closure `supporting 'and operating structure' and illustrating, particularly, 1 the "forward VLse occupants of thevehicley or other device toy which the inclosure is applied, fromthe elemerits.` u' "if Y"- With `these and furtherobje'ctsin mind reference is had ,to theattachedusheets of drawings' illustrating. practical embodiments ofthe invention andin whicht;

Figure l? is a perspective 'view of* inlportionof the same; l t Y Fig. 2 is'asimilar view of thek rear portion thereof;

Fig. Sis a perspective view of therear porclose underlying `construction 5' ofthe:` parts have'been-ibrolnrl view takenalong ythe lines 7, -,-7jiof`Fig. V2;

Figs 8 and'` 9 arel view s similari-to Fig.7 but showing slightlydierent forms Lof-y construction ;`y Y A v. l

.Fig. 10 is afragmentary perspective view Vof V'certain of fthe operatingmechanism employedg. j f j,

Fig. 1l is asimilar viewY of the supporting bows orstaysg` `F1gfl2 shows the-'invention inassociatlon withz a commercial' typevehicle' Vbody, and tFig; lis a side elevationof certainmecha -nism which maybe employed'in conjunction with any of the several forms of the-"inventionheretofore illustrated. -v

In view of the factthat4 thev present inven-v tion is `primarily. 'intended to be utilized in connection with vehicles, and f particularly motor vehicles5the' inclosure has been shown in this association.Y -At this time lit willbe understood,` however', that the 'invention might be 4employed advantageously in numerfous different associationsfand, moreover,

might, with "facilityfbe placedin an installa-` tion4 inl whichy it serves-asa replacementffor a part,; or that the; inclosuremightfbe applied Y as part of an initialv installation, or in other words,- as part of the-bodywork. 31,;

Thus, rin the-fseverallviews, the n earl.L

indicates sills disposedfadjacent vthe upper edges of a' vehicle-and preferably disposed inl that yplanelwhich is to be occupied by the' vehicle topf. These sills may lconvenientlyibe V'curved re'arwardly'and downwardly 'ashas 'been'indicated at 2', andvr grooves or channels 3 are `formed in the sills ashasbeen shown in Fig. 7'. The inner faces 'ofthese channels maybe'closed.as,r for example, byv strips 1a suitably securedonetocach of the sills and these strips mount v.double rails 178, the. upper Vof'which is coveredby faf plate *19;and the c lower of 'which has` its arms bent to extend inwardly', thus providing a somewhat confinedspacc- 21. Riding within the upper portion of` the rail are aseriesjofrollers 171 which' rest upon an upper arm ofthelower vrail ,portion and these rollers Vmount brach-V #00 of which rides beyond the outer Vend of thel lower rail part 18 and the other portion thereof being disposed within the space 21 and being of such dimension that an Vaccidental dislodgment therefrom is precluded.

By means of this structure it will be apparent that the bows or stays 12 are interconnected in such manner that they may be shifted in unison along the rails and by having a web 22 of proper material connected thereto,'which material constitutes the top forthe vehicle, it will be understood that such top will likewise be shifted. 1

The cover plate 19 may be discontinued be` yond the point at which the vsills extendfrearwardly and downwardly, as has been shown in Fig. 2 and thus, as such shifting occurs, the connecting elements incident to the guiding infiuence exerted thereon by the lower portions ofthe rails, will move rearwardly and downwardly and Vmay thereupon, and as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 2, fold to provide a compact unit. In this connection it will be observed that if desired the body proper of the vehicle-may be provided with a hinged portion 31 forming, normally, the rear of the inclosure, which portion may be swung downwardly to furnish a support for the reception of this unit. Furthermore, and as shown in Fig. 5, the bows or stays may each conveniently carry spacing blocks 12a of anysuitable material. As a consequence of this construction the covering provided by the web of material 22- will have ample space to be properly accommodated without injury between thestays when theinclosure Ais in whollyor partially collapsed positions.

Now with a view to providing means serving positively and readily to shift the structure supportedby thevrollcrs 17, a number of desirable'constructions may be employed. For example, an endless sprocket chain 4 may be disposed within the channels 3 and have .its opposite'ends-pass around sprockets 5 and 6, the former being mounted on a shaft 7. Brackets 26 are provided and connected `one to each ofthe upper runs or portions of the chains 4. peration of the shaft 7 with the resultant shifting of the inclosure or hood maybe achieved in a number of different manners. As has, for example, been shown in Fig; 1, this shaft may bemounted in bearings 8 carried by a support 9 and may be coupled by means of any suitable mechanism` (not shown) disposed within a housing 11 to a crank 10. VThis crank, whenV ro- Vrear end 30 of which may mount a crank or be otherwise suitably driven. Obviously, and again referring to Fig. 7, an adequately tight seal may be affordedas, for example, by associating a channel member 24 with the sill andhaving the side edge of the covering 22 beaded asiat 25, to extend slidably within this channel member and have its movements confined thereby.

vi/Vith the parts in operative position it will be understood that the inclosure is'maintained against' accidental displacement by,lfor example, providing across brace 27 to the rear of the support 9 and a manually operable locking device-28 may be associated with this brace and cooperate with the foremost stay or bow 12. t this time it will be observed that this locking device is so disposed with reference to the extension 30 of the worm that the latter is inaccessible. VAs a consequence, the locking device must be released before the worm -may be operatedV and, therefore, no damage may occur to the parts. It will be appreciated Vthat if, in lieu of a manual drive for the shaft some other suitable form of actuation as, for example, a power drive is employed, the saine expedient might be resorted to with a view to preventing damage. However,with the locking device released and the shaft 7 operating,it will be apparent that the .chain 4 or other operating member employed will serve to shift all of the stays rearwardly.' The outermost series of stays will thereupon move downwardly and be lcompact unit, as shown in Fig. 5. Y' Obviously,

if it is merely desired to open the rear portion of the vehicle,`n'o actuation of the shaft 7 will be necessary, but simply the receiving member 31 may be shifted downwardlyy as shown in Fig. 3. However, if thereuponV the actuation of the shaft follows,'this receiving memberV will serve to compaetly support the unit provided by the stays, links, covering, etc., as shown in Fig. 4. At this time it will be observed and has been shown in Fig. 2. that the rearmost stay or bow indicated at 14 is of the double type (so that the covering may be complementary to the receiving element 31' when rthe latter extends in normal position) and this element is preferably of larger area than the otherstays or bows, as a consequence ofwhich a structure is provided somewhat in the nature of a 'receptacle withinV which the inner parts of the inclosure nest.

It will be appreciated that as shown in Fig. 8, the structure might be modified. For eX- ample, the sills 1r` might be formed with grooves 1 into which the beaded end 22' of the covering isextended, these sills carrying hood portions 22 overlapping the beaded edges of the covering. A track or guide element is furnished which presents channel portions 3 facingin a direction opposite to that in which the corresponding portions of ture 18 extending to a point adjacent that at which the links are to be collapsed. Thus, in many respects, the structure will be more satisfactory than that heretofore described, and the operation thereof duplicating substantially the Voperation of the parts as set'- forth in the preceding paragraphs.

In the form of structure shown in Fig. 9,

substituted in lieu of the channels 3 and a shifting member 41 is mounted in the uppermost of these portions, the ends of this member being connected as shown in Fig. 4, to the outermost element of a series of connecting members 20a. A covering 22 is secured to a stay or bow 12 and the latter is secured by a bracket 15 to one of the series of connecting members 20a riding Within the lower rail portion 3a. A series of these members are',

bf course, provided and serve to connect the series of links 13 which, in this instance, mount between them rollers 17 a riding within a space 18a. 'A hood 35' is disposed in an arc and has its upperedge overlapping a beaded portion 32 formed at the' edge of the covture there will be no danger of thev mechanism being injured by rain. v

As has `been shown in Fig. 12, a delivery body 40 may utilize the mechanism ofthe present invention, in which instance it is preferred that the covering 22 extend to a point adjacent the lower and rear end of the body and that the mechanism be operated by -a` "plurality of levers 45, the inner ends of which serves to shift the bar to a position at which Acoveringl or w-eb`22,tlius clamping-the latvthat the entrance ofinoisture and dust will tendency of the parts .to rattle, will be `overcome; j Obviously, lf-retaining element 47.-

adj acent structure. 1

'tion as -defined bythe claims. a rail member having portions 3a 'and 3b is f 'Patent is:

Y Y fof said member; ering 22 and itslower edge extends within a gutter 36, it being obvious that by this struc'- a Wiii 'bev observed that 'the sills 1 have" beenv shown u and that adjacent the same therehas been illust-rated a bar 44 movably mounted upon a are vpivotally associated with the mounting structure. 'A bell-crank lever 46 or-any other suitable operating meinber'iscoupled to one or more of the ylevers 45.a1id when rocked it 'will be intimately aga-instthe face of the ter. As a consequence, itw'ill be appreciated be virtually precluded and, moreover, any

might beassociatedY with one or both of the sills and cooperatively cngagethe handle or member k46 sothat 'normallythe latter may be retained in such position that the bar willy, remain clamped 'againstthe covering or its From the foregoing, it' will be understood that, `amo'iigothers, th-efseveral objects 'spe-V ciiically aforementioned are achieved.` It iz will furthermore be appreciated that numerousy changes in construction and rearrangement of the parts mightbe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the inven- Having described' my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters 1. A device of the character described including, in combination, means providing a T1100 guide, an operating'member associated with y said guideand movable lwith respect thereto, i means for shifting said member, .links movably secured'to said operating member, a web f of material, means supporting said web convnected tosaid links and providing a coverring element, and confining means cooperating with said links to prev-entfsubstantial movement of. the same with respect to said operating inemb`er,said confining means extending adj acent the portion, of they path of travel t 2. A device ofthe characterdescribediinf cluding, in combination, means providing a guide, an operating member associatedvwith I v l .said guide andmovable.withvrespect thereto,

Vmeans for-:shifting saidmembe'r, links movlably 'secured to saidV operating member, a

web of material, means Vsupporting-said web `connected to said links vand providing-a covkering element, and .confining means cooperating with said links to prevent substantial" 4 Y movement of the `same with respect to saidv operating member, said confining means eX- v tending adjacent the forward portion ofthe path of travel of said operating member and being interrupted adjacent ythe rear portion thereof, whereby in said latter portion said links may move .withrespect to said operat-lo ing member and said Web ofcovering material Willbe folded.

3. it deviceV of the character-described 1nclnding, in combination, an endless sprocket chain, a sprocket gear for moving the same,

means for coni'ining said'chain to a substantially predetermined path vof travel, pairs of links pivotally connected to each other adjacent their enter ends andpivotally con nected to said sprocket chain adjacent their inner ends, a covering, neans supporting said covering' connected to said links adjacent their outer ends, means for normally confining such outer ends to' travel along apath substantially parallel to that traversed by the operating member, said conining means being interrupted whereby the outer ends of said pairs of links may move to points remote from said sprocket chain.

il. A device of the character described including, in combination, an operating member, neans for moving the saine, means for confining` said member to a substantially predetermined path of travel, pairs of links pivotally connected to each other ac jacent their outer ends and pivotally connected to said operating member adjacent their inner ends, a covering, means supporting said covering connected to said links adjacent their onter ends, and means for normally conining such outer ends to travel along a path substantially parallel to that traversed by the operating member, said confining` means being' interrupted whereby the outer ends of said pairs of links may move to points remote 'from said operating means, whereby adjacent pairs oit' links occupy positions substantially parallel to and above each, other, and said covering extending;` in folds between such adjacent pairs of links.

5. An inclosure including, in combination, a movable operating member, means for actuating' the same, a track Jfor conning the movements of said member, a further coniningtrack, pairs of inextensible links havtheir outer ends pivotally connected, their inner ends being pivotally connected to said operating` member, means connected to said links andfcooperatino; With said second connine: track to normally limit the movements of the links to a path ,adjacent that t aversed by the operating member, and said last named means clearingsaid second conining track upon said operating member being shifted to a predetermined position, whereby saidpairs of links may fold upon each other at points beyond said second track, a covering, and means supporting said covering secured to the outer ends of said pairs of links.

lin testimonyV whereof I EDOUARD affix my' signature. E. LEHWESS. 

